Perspective
by PhantomInvader
Summary: So what if the weather was bad? The Avatar had no need to intrude on his village. He and his friends intruded on him, yet they acted like nothing was wrong. They acted so nice to each other. Their kindness left a bitter taste in his mouth. OCcentric
1. Who?

**Hello, me again.**

**I dunno how many (if any) people read this when I first had it up--I took it down because I hated it and needed to fix it.**

**I finally got around to it.**

**This story is very OC-Centric. Just a heads up--it's a character study of the main characters (excluding Zuko. This story takes place mid-season two.) because I find it interesting to write what a stranger would think about Aang, Katara, Toph, and Sokka upon first meeting them. Enter Toru.  
**

**So I fixed what annoyed me and stuff and here it is.**

**I don't own any canon characters, or even the world of Avatar (I created the village in which the story takes place, but...technicalities). I do, however, own Toru and Min-Jee.  
**

**--Phanny**

**

* * *

**As the sun rose upon the small Earth Kingdom village of Chul, many other residents rose with it. The early morning silence had yet to be broken by the sounds of squealing children at play, and the scent of the light rain from the night before had yet to be overshadowed by the scent of cooking food. There were very few villagers who were not among the early risers, most of them including infants, the elderly, and those who had caught a chill from the many rainy nights that had plagued the village. Only one person who still slept had no real justification for his long slumber.

"For goodness sake, Toru! If I have to come shake you awake one more time, I swear…" The village healer, Min-Jee, tried to pry her apprentice's eye open with a wrinkled, bony finger. The aging woman was usually very kind and gentle, at least to her patients. She cared very deeply for her teenaged protégé as well, but it would be much easier if he would just do what she asked of him.

"What do you want? Geez…" Toru's first words of the day were spoken in an irritable tone. He didn't flinch at the old woman's glare, and took his own sweet time rising from his cot, running his hand through his tousled black hair.

"What do I want?" Min-Jee asked incredulously, "I've got four sick patients in the front room, and I can't handle them all on my own."

Toru gave her no response except pointing to the wooden crutch leaning against the opposite wall, just out of his reach. Min-Jee handed it to him, and as the boy blinked sleep from his eyes, he stood up, struggling to gain balance without putting weight on his left leg. Said leg was twisted at an odd angle, looking grotesque and painful to those that saw it, even if Toru had told them specifically that he couldn't even feel the appendage at all anymore. Moving slowly, he exited his room, his early morning sluggishness hindering his usual limping gait.

"What did you need me to do?" Toru asked, having fully awakened at last. On his pale face lay his usual sour expression, and Min-Jee sighed, tucking a loose strand of graying hair behind her ear before speaking. Picking up a cup full of some sort of steaming liquid from a table, she handed it to the boy, who winced as the warm temperature hit his fingers.

"Take that to Bon-hwa, and make _sure _he drinks it all. When you're done with that, go see if Hana needs anything. She's due any day now."

With a roll of his eyes, Toru began his _boring _day of doing his _boring _job. If he were out training for the war, he wouldn't be bored, he thought bitterly as he looked as his leg.

Almost a year before, a rockslide had crippled Toru's leg beyond repair. The once confident and sweet-natured boy with dreams of fighting in the war alongside his father had been transformed into a bitter, angry, irritable teen in only a short period of time. A strong, capable warrior in training had been rendered useless in no time flat, and no matter how many times he was told to do so, he just _couldn't _move on. Even after his primary caretaker, Min-Jee herself, had offered him his current job, the boy refused to let go of his bitterness. Only Min-Jee, being his surrogate mother, was able to put up with his snappish, unpleasant demeanor, and she knew that he was smart and capable of being a great healer.

If it wasn't for the fact that he wasn't as patient and kind as she would have preferred in an apprentice.

Soon enough, Toru returned to Min-Jee's hut, still looking quite bored.

"I almost had to shove Bon-hwa's medicine down his throat," Toru began, and his mentor winced at his words, "and Hana was asleep, so I didn't wake her, and her sister said she was doing fine."

"Very good, thank you." Min-Jee said kindly. Toru grumbled in response and, with some difficulty, sat down on one of the cots in the corner. Min-Jee glanced at him, letting out a resigned sigh. "If you're so bored, there are some herbs to be collected. We're running low on a few that we'll need soon." Toru turned to look at her, and, upon seeing the expression in her eyes, realized that he really didn't have a choice in the matter.

* * *

"Ow!" Toru drew his hand back from the berries he had been about to pick. Why was it that every single plant on his mentor's list had _thorns? _

Toru had ventured deep into the forest that surrounded his home, searching for the herbs and plants that Min-Jee had requested. He dawdled slightly, in no hurry to return to his job of catering to the sickly residents of his village. He could always blame his slowness on his leg, as he often did.

Sucking on his pricked finger, Toru scowled at the bush, as though it had actually meant to hurt him.

"Are you sure this is a good spot?"

Toru froze. Who said that? Peeking through the trees, he could only vaguely make out human shapes moving back and forth. The trees were rather thick, as were the shadows they cast. His curiosity getting the better of him, Toru moved closer, not an easy feat for one who relied on a crutch for mobility and was therefore not the least bit graceful or sneaky. Luckily, the people ahead of him didn't seem to be paying attention anyway.

"Sokka," the pitch of the voice told Toru that the speaker was female, "this is the _fifth _place that we've stopped. The trees are thick, there's no one around, I think we can stay for the night."

"And I don't know if Appa can go much farther." A young boy added.

"To be honest, I'll be happy to stay on the ground where I can see without having to get up to fly again when _someone _finds the _tiniest _thing wrong with the campsite." Another girl, and this one was younger.

"There was a hornet's nest at the last place we stopped!" The older boy who had spoken first objected. Toru guessed that this was "Sokka".

"A hornet's nest with _no hornets in it._" The younger girl replied scathingly.

As the conversation went on, Toru edged ever closer. He'd never seen anyone outside his own village before, and this may be his only chance.

"You could have been wrong!" Sokka said, and Toru wasn't prepared for the small earthquake that ensued as the younger girl stomped her foot. An Earth Bender.

"I was _not _wrong." The girl replied.

"Guys, guys!" The young boy said, "please don't start this now."

"Sokka, we're all a little paranoid," the older girl spoke up again, "but it won't hurt to relax. No one is sneaking up on us."

"Wrong," the younger girl interrupted. Toru froze. "there's someone behind that tree."

In his head, Toru recited a string of swears that would have made even the Fire Lord sick to his stomach.

"All right, come out!" Sokka yelled, taking out what looked like a boomerang. It frightened Toru. He'd always seen a boomerang as a child's toy, but this one looked very much like a weapon. He stepped out of his hiding place, unable to wipe his default sour expression off of his face, no matter how hard he tried.

"What?" Was his only statement. Sokka lowered his boomerang, and he and his friends relaxed themselves out of the fighting stances they had taken.

The young boy let out a sigh of relief. Toru looked up at him, and his eyes widened. It wasn't the fact that the kid had extensive tattoos, or the fact that he was bald.

Frankly, it the humongous, furry, six-legged…_thing _that he was situated upon. As though hearing his thoughts, the thing let out what sounded like a roar.

"Appa, calm down! It's just a kid." The boy said. Toru frowned. _Look who's talking!_

"Who are you?" The older girl asked. Toru could tell from her appearance that she and Sokka were related in some way. Hearing her question, his natural demeanor returned.

"Who're _you?_" He shot back. "_I _live around here, this is my home, _I'll _ask the questions."

The girl's eye twitched in annoyance. "My name is Katara. And that's Aang," the young boy waved at him from atop his humongous beast of burden.

"Toph." The younger girl, the Earth Bender, said dismissively.

"Sokka." Sokka still sounded defensive. "Now who are you?"

"Toru." Toru sniffed irritably. "And why, pray tell, did you decide to camp out here?"

"We can camp where we want." Sokka said in irritation.

"Whatever." Toru said, "then I can eavesdrop if I want."

"How come this guy's only got one leg?" Toph asked suddenly. Toru looked at her in astonishment. Couldn't she see that he had two? Wait, was she even looking at him at all?

"He's got two, Toph," Katara informed her quietly, "he's just not using one, so you can't sense it."

Toru sighed in frustration. "I shouldn't have eavesdropped. You guys are so boring. I'm going home."

"Wait, you live nearby?" Katara inquired curiously.

"Yeah," Toru shrugged, slightly irked at the fact that he had told them that not a minute before, "in a village. What's it to you?"

It was obvious that Katara was trying to refrain from losing her temper. "D'you think we could come with you?"

"I don't care." Toru began to limp back towards his village, not stopping to see if they were actually coming along. He was only vaguely aware that he hadn't gathered any of the plants that Min-Jee had requested.

* * *

Needless to say, Toru's mentor was _furious._

"One thing, I ask you to do _one _thing, and you come back with nothing!" Min-Jee's rant was in full swing, made worse by the fact that Toru wore an indifferent expression through the whole thing. "Every once in awhile I rethink my decision of taking you on as an apprentice!"

"Then why don't you just fire me, huh?! Send me out in the forest and wait for me to die? The perfect punishment for someone who can't take care of himself, isn't it?!" Toru said heatedly.

Min-Jee was not eager to get into this argument, the same one she'd been having with him ever since his accident.

"I know you're not helpless, and you know it too! Do not start this again!"

"I'll _start _whatever I _want _to start!" Toru said, "you liar! Everyone thinks I'm helpless, even you! I don't need your pity!"

"You won't be getting any from me." Min-Jee said firmly, "I know it's hard, but I've told you that you need to let this anger die."

"And what will that do?" Toru had lowered his voice, but acid dripped from his words, "that's not going to make my leg better, nothing is! Nothing is ever going to get better! Maybe it's easier to be angry, ever think of that?!" Min-Jee grabbed her apprentice's shoulders, her tone and mindset switching from mentor to mother.

"Maybe it is," the old woman looked at the boy whom she considered a son, "and maybe that's why this needs to end. Toru, you--look at me," Min-Jee cupped her hand around the boy's chin as he turned away from her, "you _need _to try. I want to stop having these fights with you, and I know you don't want to fight anymore either, but no matter how much I wish that this will stop, there's nothing I can do. Only you can fix it, Toru, and I want you to _try._"

Toru's expression was unreadable. Min-Jee's heart sank as she waited in vain for a reply.

"There were people in the woods." Toru spoke after a long stretch of silence.

"Really now?" Min-Jee jumped at the chance for a civil conversation.

"They were weird." Toru continued, "and they had a big hairy monster thing with 'em."

"That's interesting."

"They said they might come here. I don't know."

Min-Jee postponed her reply as she heard a knock on the door. When she opened the door, Toru's eyes widened.

"Those are the weird people!" He pointed at them. Min-Jee frowned.

"Toru, don't be rude." She turned back to Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph, her voice kind. "Pardon my apprentice. We don't get many travelers around here."

"That's okay," Aang said, smiling. "We were on our way to Ba Sing Se when we ran out of supplies. We were told there was a village here--"

"By _me._" Toru interjected.

"Toru, hush." Min-Jee scolded, before gesturing for Aang to continue.

"Anyway, we were wondering if there was a place to get some food? We can pay." Aang's innocent smile didn't manage to hide him and his friends' weariness.

"Of course." Min-Jee told them, "just next door, my nephew owns a shop. You'll find plenty there. But I wouldn't travel tonight, if I were you. There's a storm coming."

"Oh." All four of the strangers shuddered, and Toru guessed that they had been caught in last night's storm as well.

"But you are welcome in the village until you are ready to leave." Min-Jee added.

"That's very kind of you." Katara said politely.

"We don't have an inn or anything," Min-Jee admitted. "As I said, not many travelers. But I do have extra beds here in another room."

"Thank you." Aang sure sounded grateful.

"No thanks needed, Avatar Aang." Min-Jee smiled, Aang looked surprised, and Toru nearly fell over.

Turns out, he'd ticked off the most powerful person on the planet.

'_Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat???'_

* * *

**Fun Fact: Toru's sort of a douchebag.**

**I have chapter two written up but I'm still tinkering with it.  
**


	2. What?

**Hello again!**

**Here's more of...yeah. This.**

**Reviews, though not mandatory, are appreciated!**

**--Phanny  
**

* * *

Min-Jee's hut was, as usual, filled with the mingled scents of the strange herbs that she used in her medicines, along with the incense that had been lit as part of her evening routine. The four strangers: Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph, were deep in conversation, having been captivated by the old woman's stories.

Well, Katara and Aang were captivated, Sokka looked interested in Min-Jee's words, but he was not as eagerly attentive, and if Toph was paying attention, she didn't show it.

"And I recall you wondering how I knew that you were the avatar." Toru was only half listening, but as Min-Jee said this, he paid somewhat closer attention. "We do not get many travelers, as I said, but we do have men serving in the war. Letters from them describe the new avatar, an air bender who calls himself Aang. That, along with what little knowledge of the Air Nomads I possess was enough to tell me."

Min-Jee's last sentence was cut off as a loud rumble sounded from outside, though Toru was sure it was not thunder.

"And your Sky Bison was a clincher." The old woman let out a hoarse chuckle as she heard Appa.

"You sure seem to know a lot." Aang said, and Toru saw Katara nod.

"I'm old," Min-Jee said kindly, "you can learn many things in one year alone, imagine living for seventy or more." Toru snorted, and Min-Jee threw a warning glance in his direction.

"In any case, you are welcome to stay the night here." She added. All four of the strangers shared a glance, and it seemed that they had realized that it wasn't a good idea to refuse.

"Thank you." Katara said, speaking for the whole group. Toru was about to tune them all out when Min-Jee spoke once more.

"I'm sure Toru can show you were to some extra beds in the other room." The old woman began to make her way into her own room, not looking back to see Toru's fierce glare.

_Bitter old bat! Do it yourself!_

And honestly, the group didn't seem too thrilled about having to interact with him, either.

"Come on." He said tersely, picking up his crutch and limping towards one of the extra rooms. Sliding the door open, he pointed. "Sleep in there." He adjourned to his own room for the night.

He knew he wouldn't sleep well that night. Avatar or not, Aang and his friends were strangers in his home. They weren't welcome here.

* * *

"Min-Jee seemed nice," Katara commented as she and her friends got ready for bed. "Pretty hospitable, too."

"I suppose _someone _has to be." Sokka remarked, "that kid's got some nerve. He might even be worse than Toph."

"Heard that." The blind girl was already laying down in her cot, her closed, though she wasn't sleeping. "And I don't think it's much of a problem, you know, compared to ending a hundred-year long war."

"Toph's right," Aang spoke up. He put his bag down, stirring the sleeping flying lemur that had been dozing inside it. Momo curled up in Aang's bed in less than a minute. "He doesn't want anything to do with us, and we don't want to have anything to do with him. Some people are just like that."

"We're not here to pick a fight," Katara agreed. "Let's just get some rest. We should probably get an early start tomorrow."

Aang opened the large window the room, revealing Appa half asleep outside. "G'night Appa," he said.

Appa let out a small rumble in reply.

* * *

The next morning was darkened by clouds, and those who usually rose with the sun were not stirred. The still air was chilly, not having been warmed by the sun, and there was a thin layer of fog blanketing the village of Chul.

Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph continued to sleep peacefully, undisturbed by the sounds of the waking outdoors.

"Gah! What the--!?"

Toph's eyes flew open, having the best hearing the group. The others roused only minutes before the sliding door to their room was slammed open, and an angry, tired Toru hobbled in, his eyes burning, his hair tousled, and in his hand was a very frightened flying lemur.

"I don't know what you're trying to pull here, but keep your stupid monkey out of my room!"

"Momo is _not _a stupid monkey!" Aang hissed, angered by the boy's rough treatment of his furry friend. He stood up from his bed and moved towards Toru, who released the lemur angrily into Aang's arms. Only then did he realize that, in his rush to return the animal, he'd forgotten his crutch. He promptly fell over, but his eyes remained fierce, as though daring any one of them to laugh.

Sokka accepted the dare and snickered at Toru's expense. Katara gave her brother a warning glance, which he did not seem to acknowledge.

"What's going on in here?" Min-Jee stood in the open doorway to the room, glancing at Toru before approaching him, "how did you get here without your crutch, Toru?"

"Heat of passion," Toru grumbled. Min-Jee looked confused, but she didn't press him.

"Come on, then," Min-Jee helped him to stand up, "let's get you moving again, and we'll get to work."

Momo screeched angrily from his perch on Aang's shoulder, obviously expressing his distaste at his treatment.

"Oh shut up! …stupid monkey," Toru didn't even look back as he replied.

* * *

"Ow…ow! Owowow! Stop it!"

The young soldier-in-training, Lian, was flinching and writhing in pain on the bed he'd been placed on. Toru was assigned to tend to him, a simple job, mostly. The idiot had been running so quickly that he tripped into a shrub that was known to carry long, sharp spine-like thorns. It had been aptly named "Needlebush", and they grew like mad around the village.

And so Toru was doing his work exactly as he had been told--pick all of the spines out of the human pincushion's hide.

"Ow!" Lian exclaimed as Toru plucked yet another spine from the boy's skin, "can you go a little slower? That _hurts._"

"It'll hurt either way," Toru said dully, clearly callous to the boy's complaints, "it'll hurt less if you hold still, though."

This entire process also represented that despite his attitude, Toru was very good at his job. Despite Lian's complaints, Toru removed the needles as carefully as he could--even if the method couldn't be described as gentle--and dabbed the proper disinfectant onto each of the punctures as Min-Jee had instructed him many times before.

Speaking of Min-Jee, she approached Toru and his patient with an astounded look on her face.

"Never in my life have I seen _that _many spines on one person's body," she said to Lian, "_what _were you doing?"

"I was racing--ow!--Chen and Bao when I--ack! Watch it!--tripped and rolled into the bush," Lian said while Toru continued picking out the needles from his skin, "and your apprentice here hasn't given me any of that pain stuff--this hurts!"

"If I give it to you it'll make you numb," Toru said casually, "you won't be able to feel it, but you won't be able to tell me if I missed any. Deal with it." Toru plucked another spine from Lian's back, "there's only a few left, as far as I can see."

"Well hurry up!" Lian hissed in pain as Toru pulled out the last few spines.

"There," Toru carefully gathered all of the needles that he had picked out and disposed of them, finishing up with Lian and limping away to his room before the other boy could even lift himself off of the bed, "you're welcome."

Lian sighed and got up. Toru used to be his friend, but ever since that accident he was just no fun anymore. He didn't want anything to do with anybody.

"Go on, then," Min-Jee urged him out of the hut, "you've still got a few hours to get some training in."

"All right," Lian smiled and went on his way, "thanks!"

Min-Jee smiled, going back to work.

If only Toru would stay with his patients a little while longer, he might actually hear them thank him.

* * *

Very little injuries or sicknesses were spread that day, so Toru pretty much got the rest of the day off.

He'd caught up on his sleep and read one of the books Min-Jee had given him to study. Yes, the thing Toru hated most about being mentored was that he actually had to _read. _

The warriors in training never had to read or study. You don't need to study to learn how to fight. You can't study it from a book--you just do it.

Healers had to learn a bunch of boring stuff, like what plants cure what, what symptoms lead to what illness, how to dress wounds, blah, blah, blah and more stuff like that. However, though Toru never admitted it aloud, some of the stuff was actually pretty interesting. It was pretty cool, knowing how to fix things that nobody else did.

"Hey." Toru jumped as a voice from behind him spoke suddenly. He looked around to see that blind girl that came in with the avatar--Toph?--in his doorway. "Your grandma wants you."

"She's not my grandma," Toru shrugged, slowly closing his book and sitting up, "I thought you people left."

"Sorry to disappoint you," Toph said sharply, beginning to walk back down the hall, "you coming or not?"

"I'll be there in a second," Toru said, grabbing his crutch and following her. He reached the main room to see that Min-Jee had made dinner. Toru's stomach growled instantly as he sat down, noticing with anger that the avatar and his friends did the same.

"We really do appreciate you letting us stay here," Katara said, looking at her brother with distaste as he ate quickly and loudly as though he hadn't for days.

"It's no trouble," Min-Jee smiled, "I just couldn't live with myself if you were to have nowhere to stay on a rainy day like this one. The storms around here are nasty."

"We noticed that the other night," Aang said, shuddering, "promised Appa I'd never make him fly through that again if I can help it."

"Well, there's a good chance there'll be decent weather tomorrow, but if not you're welcome to stay as long as you need to."

Toru grunted disdainfully in response, his eyes burning as he continued to eat.

"Is there something you'd like to say, Toru?" Min-Jee questioned him, "you seem to have a lot on your mind recently."

"No," Toru murmured, "not really."

"You're sure?" Min-Jee asked, "you've been awfully quiet today."

"I'm fine," Toru said, now picking absently at his food. He didn't enjoy being questioned in front of strangers.

"All right," Min-Jee didn't seem satisfied, but she let it go, "you're studying the pages I told you, right?"

"_Yes,_" the answer was long and drawn out, "all those thorn covered plants that you love so much and all of the weird stuff they do."

"Well don't sound too excited," Min-Jee said dryly.

"I've been wondering…" Sokka spoke up, having finished his food. However, he trailed off, as though not knowing if he should actually asked. He looked at Toru.

"It's impolite to stare," Toru muttered dryly, "you wanna say something just say it."

"What happened to your leg?"

Toru tensed. He hated that question, no matter who asked it. He hated telling the story over and over and reliving it as he did so. He looked up at Sokka.

"Rockslide. Big one. The end." He decided to abridge it a little.

Sokka shrugged, "curiosity satisfied."

That was it?

None of those little words of pity? Sokka didn't tell him how awful it must be, Sokka didn't make him feel so awful about it. He was just wondering.

Toru raised an eyebrow. This was new.

It was odd to have told someone and not gotten any pathetic attempts to cheer him up when he wasn't feeling depressed in the first place.

"Well, okay." Toru appreciated it.

* * *

**No lemurs were harmed in the making of this chapter.**


	3. Why?

**Sorry I'm late. Traffic.**

* * *

Toru had been suspicious of the Avatar and his friends ever since they'd arrived. He knew they had good, world-saving intentions, but they were involved in the war _somehow--_they had to be. The Avatar had no choice. What if the Fire Nation was chasing them and tracked them down here? His home could be ashes by morning!

And he'd admitted minutes ago that watching them like this would do nothing to prevent that from happening. So why was Toru watching them so intently? Was it to make himself feel better? Was it to make them want to leave faster?

Toru was watching Katara and Aang in awe. He had never witnessed any Water Bending in his life. Ever.

He'd seen Earth Bending, and that grew boring after awhile, but Water Bending just fascinated him so intensely that he couldn't look away even if he'd wanted to.

The Avatar and Katara had asked earlier in the morning if there was a place where they could practice, and Min-Jee had told them the location of a stream deep in the forest that surrounded the village. It wasn't terribly large, but it would suffice.

And guess who was sent to lead them there.

Toru had sat down on a nearby rock, having told the group that he was there to lead them back should they forget the way. He could've left at any time, but he decided to be nice just this once and watch.

Katara and Aang moved the water through the air, sparring with each other, practicing forms…

And splashing Sokka every now and then when he wasn't looking. They looked like they'd wanted to splash Toph, too, but they thought better of it.

Though Toru was apparently an acceptable target, as he found out after receiving a face full of water. He coughed and spluttered in surprise.

"Hey!" Toru growled, clearing his wet bangs from his eyes, "what was that for?!"

"Sorry!" Aang looked sheepish, "that one was an accident. I lost focus."

"Oh right," Toru huffed, "and I suppose Sokka's all wet because you 'lost focus'?"

"The _first _time it was an accident."

"Just watch what you're doing," Toru glared at them fiercely before turning away to watch a bird peck at the ground.

"It's just a little water," Sokka reminded him, shrugging.

Just a little water.

Sokka had been soaking wet since the beginning of this training session. Why wasn't he angry? Why wasn't he glaring at them or confronting them as Toru, had it not been for his leg making it difficult to get up, would have loved to?

Toru shifted his gaze away from the stupid bird to watch again.

These people were _weird._

* * *

Toru didn't know why, but it seemed that a lot of people around the village found Min-Jee's hut and everything inside of it extremely interesting, and the four intruders were no exception. He didn't get it--the only things in the hut were smelly herbs, various liquids, and other such things. In the very back there was one small door that led to a small wall of rock where a small waterfall--if it could even be called that--that basically functioned as a shower for patients and the other residents. The hut had been built up against a stone wall at the edge of the village, leaving a space to get access to the corner through which the water flowed, falling into a small crack where the ground separated from the wall. This acted as a drain, and Toru figured the deep crevice carried the water through to the river. That was the only place it could really go, after all.

Really though, when you _lived_ in such an interesting place, it just stopped being interesting after awhile. Toru wished the other villagers could see that side of the place and leave him alone.

"Don't touch that." Toru said without looking up, knowing Katara had found something she wanted a closer look at. Though Min-Jee had wondered if the girl had healing powers (some Water Bender thing. Toru hadn't been that interested.) and Katara had confirmed it, the young Water Bender couldn't help but be slightly fascinated with Min-Jee's somewhat odd methods of healing--Toru had to admit that Min-Jee had a very unique way of caring for her patients.

Katara silently walked away from whatever she had been looking at. She wanted to ask him what some of the things were for, but she didn't approach him, not wanting to inadvertently start an argument.

"There's a book on that table over there," Toru continued absently, "it's got information about all of this stuff, she let's anyone read it as long as she's not using it. Just be careful with it…it's old."

Toru heard Katara's quiet footsteps as she walked near where he had directed her. He sighed, going back to his work. He'd asked Lian and his friend Chen to go out and get some honey--the rain the night before had apparently gotten people sick. He'd gotten all kinds of complaints, from sore throats to runny noses. Nothing could really be done about runny noses, but sore throats could be soothed with honey. Toru wasn't able to go on his own, as he wasn't fast enough for the job.

Getting honey wasn't easy. Toru was busying himself with making the ointment for bee stings.

The two boys came back, panting, with two chunks of honeycomb on strings dripping with the golden liquid.

"In the jar," Toru told them, and Lian and Chen carried stuffed the honeycomb into a glass jar so that the honey would drip to the bottom and the wax could be removed. "Come here," Toru beckoned them back, getting a good look at the boys, covered in red welts and stings. Toru sighed and pulled out the ointment for them, "can you apply this yourself or do I have to do it?"

Lian obviously remembered yesterday's incident. "I think we can handle it ourselves."

Toru shrugged. Less work for him. He shook his head, sighing and lying down on one of the cots with his book spread out in front of him.

"_Plantago:_

_Uses--Anti-toxic, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anti-histamine…poultices of this herb treat insect bites and have shown to counter the venom of the two-headed rat snake and the lethal black stinging spider…also used in salads and soups…"_

"Hey Katara," Toru winced as Aang broke the comfortable silence he had once had. "Appa's getting restless, I'm gonna take him out for a little, wanna come?"

Toru listened carefully. _Please say yes_, he thought.

"Uhm," Katara mused, "I think I'll hang around here a little more."

"Why?" Aang asked, feeling a little put out.

"I want to talk to Min-Jee about some things, that's all."

"We wouldn't be gone long."

Toru's eye twitched, "would one--or preferably _both--_of you just leave, already? I need to concentrate."

Aang looked at him curiously, "on what?"

"Why do you care?" Toru asked.

Aang frowned slightly, but shrugged, "I'm curious is all. You told me you needed to do something, and I asked what it was."

Toru sighed, "Min-Jee gives me little pop quizzes all the time," Toru closed his book and heaved himself off of the bed. "If I don't know my stuff she…she doesn't _punish _me, but she gives me one of those disappointed looks." Toru paused before continuing.

"If you're not going to go on your bison thingy then give it this," Toru handed them a few stems of a flowering plant. "Chamomile. Relaxant. Either have him work the energy off or give him this. Just…do something. I'll be in my room."

Aang and Katara looked at him as he retreated. Did they just have a conversation with _him?_

Toru sat down on his bed, his eyes widening as he heard something from down the hall.

"Thanks."

Toru suddenly got an odd, warm feeling in his stomach when he heard that word. It felt nice.

* * *

**See, he's got a heart in there...deep _deep _in there...**


	4. How?

It had been a long time since Toru had actually been excited about something. Ever since his accident he'd lost interest in a lot of things he used to enjoy, opting to brood quietly instead and wallow in his own misery. For some reason, doing that just felt…better. And he never had the energy to put any amount of effort into anything else.

There was one thing, though, that brightened Toru's mood still. There was a day that came every few weeks, a day he'd always looked forward to. It was mail day.

Mail day was pretty much self-explanatory: letters from friends and family in nearby towns, and from the men of the village currently participating in the war, all brought to the village every two weeks or so -- there was no specific pattern. When it came, it came.

Toru awaited the day eagerly, always hoping for a letter from his father. He understood that most of the soldiers rarely had time to write a detailed letter, but he still wished for just one -- he hadn't gotten one in over a month.

Min-Jee glanced up from her work every so often to look at Toru, who was wringing his hands and staring at the door of the hut intensely, waiting for someone to open it and deliver a letter.

"Toru, you know the mail doesn't come this early," Min-Jee chuckled, amused, "calm down."

Toru let out something that sounded like a small whine before taking a deep breath and letting it out. He looked at Min-Jee pleadingly, as though she could make the mail come faster.

"What if it _does _come early?" Toru asked, "what if it comes early and there's nothing for me and that's why you think it's not here yet because nobody's bringing anything to us because there's nothing to bring and--"

"Toru!" Min-Jee stopped the boy mid-sentence. "_Calm down. _I'm sure your father sent you something. You have to be patient."

Toru shook his head, not ripping his gaze away from the doorway. "Patience is for people who aren't waiting for anything important to happen!"

"Who's yelling and why?" Sokka yawned, walking from the direction of his room towards the main room. He'd obviously just woken up, and Aang looked the same, appearing behind Sokka, shaking himself into full awareness.

Toru didn't respond, locking himself into some sort of a trance, afraid to even blink in case he missed something come through the door.

"The mail comes today," Min-Jee explained, "Toru's hoping for a letter from his father."

"Oh," Sokka mused, "is he a soldier?"

"Yes," Toru answered shortly, "he is."

"So is mine," Sokka replied, "mine and Katara's."

"Then you must know how it feels," Min-Jee said, "how it feels to know he's so far away."

Sokka sighed, looking sullen for just a moment. "Yeah. We know."

"What if it doesn't come?" Toru suddenly asked, "what if he forgot about me or -- or if he's hurt really bad or…"

"Toru, if you're not too busy driving yourself mad," Min-Jee interrupted, "have you eaten anything today?"

"Not hungry." Toru muttered.

"Toru," Min-Jee sighed in exasperation, "the mail won't come for a while yet, try doing something else."

"What else is there?" Toru asked, "I finished my studying, you don't need me to do anything--"

"I'd be happy to find something for you to do," Min-Jee told him. She then looked to Aang and Sokka, "would you boys have anything for him to do?"

Toru frowned. He didn't want to spend any more time with the Avatar or his friends than he had to. They were all so strange to him, so different. Toru had learned to tolerate their intrusion, but that was as far as he planned to go in terms of any sort of relationship.

"Technically I _am _doing something," Toru said evasively, "I'm sitting. And waiting. That's _two _things at once."

"Sitting and waiting is good," Sokka replied, obviously not wanting to put up with Toru's sour mood either, "it teaches patience…I guess."

"If only," Min-Jee sighed, "just…work off some of that excess energy you've got, Toru. You could use fresh air, at least."

Toru recognized Min-Jee's tone. She was suggesting, she was _telling _Toru to go out and make some use of his spare time.

When Katara and Toph finally woke up, it was decided that Toru would watch Aang learn Earth Bending.

* * *

Toru had never been more confused as he watched Aang and Toph train. He didn't know how a little blind girl could be such an excellent Earth Bender, nor could he even fathom how said girl could double as a _teacher. _If she couldn't see anything, how could she even know what was happening around her? When Aang actually shot rocks at her, how could she dodge? How was her aim and timing so exact?

None of these things were making any sense to Toru. Toph was blind, but she was powerful, she was confident and her abilities, and from what Toru had seen she needed little to no help doing things that any other blind girl wouldn't be able to. How did she come to be one of the strongest Earth Benders Toru had ever seen?

"Watch it!" Toru was thrust out of his thoughts when he heard Sokka shout. "I let you get away with the water, but I draw the line at rocks!"

"We weren't even aiming at you!" Aang said.

"Here's an idea: _Get out of the way_." Toph put in.

"I'm not in the way!"

"If you almost got hit with a rock, you _are too_ in the way."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too," Toph said with a note of finality in her voice, "ya really wanna argue with me?"

"Stop it." Katara's tone didn't match her words, sounding blank, as though she'd stopped this argument a million times before.

"Uh, guys?" Aang broke in at last, "can we go back to training soon? Please?"

Their mood changed again, so fast that it almost gave Toru whiplash. Toph let herself relax, all signs of aggression gone, while Sokka moved away from his previous spot while at the same time trying not to look like he was doing what Toph had told him to.

Toru wondered why they never followed through on the threats they made. Even when they were that close to actually fighting they looked like they were just playing around with each other which, in Toru's opinion, was just nonsensical and stupid.

When Toru turned his gaze back to Toph, he began to wonder some more. She was confident and surprisingly capable for someone her age, blind or not. Toru almost thought he identified with the girl, but only for a split second before seeing how she acted. She couldn't see, and Toru couldn't walk. Toph walked around in complete darkness, while Toru had trouble walking at all. Toph was disabled, so was Toru. They were both missing something that most everybody else possessed. There were only a few differences, but they were _big _differences. Toph could hold her own in a fight, and Toru couldn't. Toph had friends, and Toru had none.

Toru was convinced that his disability made him useless. Toph seemed to know that she was anything but.

* * *

Toru limped back into Min-Jee's hut, having left the Avatar and his friends to wait for the mail again. He'd had enough of their odd, playful bickering.

"Back so soon?" Min-Jee didn't look up from her work. "Did you have fun?"

Toru didn't answer. He honestly didn't know if he'd had fun or not -- he didn't want to say yes, but something else kept him from saying no.

"Yes, there is something for you," Min-Jee said before Toru could open his mouth, "it's on your bed."

Toru had already gone to his room before Min-Jee could look up and smile. It was good to see the normally distant, brooding Toru excited about something. She just wished he would try to find more things to enjoy on his own.

Toru had sat down on his bad after taking the letter into his hands. For a few moments he just stared at it. What would it say when he opened it? Would it be good or bad? As he read the outside over and over, seeing his father's name handwritten on the envelope -- Dae-Hyun.

Letting out a deep sigh, Toru worked up to courage to open it.

_Toru,_

_I am sorry I have not been writing to you as much as I wish I could. I think maybe this letter could make up for some of it._

_Everything is going well over here -- as far as wars go. Though no one has been killed in awhile now, I'm not when I will be able to come home._

_I hope Min-Jee is treating you right. I'm sure she is, I wouldn't have asked her to care for you in my absence if I didn't trust her._

_The last time I asked about your leg I was told that you were in a lot of pain. I haven't mentioned it for quite awhile, I hope it has healed as much as possible, even if Min-Jee couldn't fix it all the way. I know you must be upset that you cannot join me here, but I know that you're capable of coping no matter what._

_Sometimes the tragic things that happen to us make us stronger, son, I hope you know that._

_Be sure to give Min-Jee my hello and my thanks for taking you in._

_I miss both of you more than I can say._

_Love,_

_Dad._

Toru sighed as he finished reading. His father was so sure that Toru was doing well, accepting his injury, coping, and moving on. Toru's father was the man he looked up to more than anyone else. He was strong and brave and confident and great, he took everything that the world threw at him in stride and didn't let tragic events in his past hold him down and keep him from moving on.

When Toru finally realized that his father wanted him to learn to be strong too, his stomach churned uncomfortably, and he ran his hands through his hair, his expression blank.

A letter from his father, a letter that was supposed to make him happy, somehow made him feel like a weak, spineless coward, and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't make the feeling go away.

* * *

**Well there goes Toru, spreading cheerful rainbow puffy-cloud sunshine to all.**


End file.
